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Arte Description and History

Prism Sword was first introduced as an enemy spell used by Rem and Shizel. The only time this spell is accessible to the player is during the third Seyfert trial, where Reid Hershel experiences the life of a younger Shizel. The spell itself produces seven crystals that appear over the target, initially arranged like a star, before shooting into the sky, quickly dropping into the ground to deal damage to a large area.

In Tales of Symphonia, Genis Sage learns this spell after having learned Absolute and Atlas, if he is aligned with the "Strike" branch of arte progression. The arte involves a multi-colored rune that appears on the ground around the target, followed by beams of light raining down randomly within the rune, acting as a more focused variation of Judgment. The arte ends with a final, more powerfully-centered beam that crashes upon the middle of the rune with the image of a sword of light. This arte has a decent effect radius that can easily hit multiple enemies or a single target multiple times, but there is a chance for all of the swords to miss the target. Prism Sword is notable for being Genis's only arte capable of inflicting Light-based elemental damage.

In Tales of the Abyss, this spell is one of the "forbidden artes" that Jade Curtiss can obtain as part of a series of sidequest events. Upon activation, six crystals fall to the ground to surround the enemy, refracting light between each of the crystals and a seventh crystal in the sky before dropping into the center of the formation. In this game, any target in the effect radius will be dealt damage. The spell leaves behind a fully-charged FOF Circle, which can be used with other compatible artes to activate FOF Changes. The context contained in the ancient stones in reference to Prism Sword reads, "The sword of judgment is the wedge in the tides of the southern sea. The rainbow of the swamp doth illuminate he who seeketh knowledge and shines down with seven-colored light upon the mountain path."

In Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, Marta Lualdi learns the arte through normal level gain, while Genis regains the ability to use this arte after the events in Altamira. Monsters can also learn this arte through the grimoire item "Luna's Punishment". This spell, like several others in this game, follows the style established in Tales of the Abyss rather than the original Tales of Symphonia. Because it is Light-elemental, the usage of the spell will affect the Elemental Grid.